In a manufacturing process of semiconductor products or flat panel displays (FPDs), a liquid processing has been widely used where a processing liquid is supplied to a semiconductor wafer or glass substrate (a substrate to be processed). As an example of the liquid processing, a cleaning processing is known that removes, for example, particles and contamination attached to the substrate.
As a liquid processing apparatus performing the liquid processing to the semiconductor wafer (“wafer”), there is known a single wafer type liquid processing apparatus, which performs the liquid processing by supplying a processing liquid to the surface or the backside thereof while holding the wafer on a spin chuck configured to be rotatable around a vertical shaft to rotate the wafer.
The processing liquid supplied to the rotating wafer is flung away from the wafer by the centrifugal force to such an extent that the processing liquid becomes droplets or mists and are scattered around the spin chuck. Accordingly, in the liquid processing apparatus, an annular cover referred as, for example, a cup is installed for receiving and guiding the scattered processing liquid to a discharging line of the processing liquid.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-183010 (see, for example, claim 4, paragraphs [0036] to [0038], and FIGS. 4 and 5) discloses a single wafer type substrate processing apparatus having the configuration in which two kinds of cups having different sizes are disposed to be stacked up so as to surround the spin chuck and an inner cup can be elevatable. In the substrate processing apparatus, during the liquid processing with a chemical liquid (processing liquid), the inner cup is descended below the spin chuck and an outer cup receives the chemical liquid scattered around to guide the received chemical liquid to a recovery line, while during a rinse processing using a rinse liquid such as deionized water (DIW), the retreated inner cup is ascended to receive the rinse liquid scattered around to discharge the rinse liquid through a line separated from that of the chemical liquid. However, in the substrate processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-183010, since only one elevatable cup is provided, in the case of using a plurality of kinds of chemical liquids in addition to the rinse liquid, the cups cannot be differentially used according to the used chemical liquids and those chemical liquids cannot be separately recovered and discharged.
From the above viewpoint, Japanese Patent No. 4531612 (see, for example, claim 1, paragraphs [0014], [0057] to [0060], and FIGS. 8 and 9) discloses a substrate processing apparatus in which three elevatable guiding parts (cups) are disposed to be stacked around the spin chuck and each of the guiding parts is elevated according to a kind of processing liquid used to differentially discharge a rinse liquid or the processing liquid. When two inner guiding parts near the spin chuck are elevated at the same time, an elevating operation is performed while a very small gap between the guiding parts is maintained.